Maltby TS2

[Therty]

2 hours ago, brian25 said:

Which iron set would you say is closest to the Mizuno JPX921 hot metals?  The ke4max?

Or TS2

[SE Gamer]

Max Milled putters are now officially on their site. Or at least two of the color combos. 

https://www.golfworks.com/ke4-max-milled-putter-head-black-out/p/ma0349/

 

On an unrelated note, does anyone know whether gift cards can be purchased for GolfWorks? 

[5hort5tuff]

I just received my STi2 club pack in the mail.  I know this has been said before, but these irons look way better in person. It's amazing to me. They are so much smaller and more compact than any picture I have seen them in.  Obviously, they aren't your traditional blade size, but truly look nice in person. 

 

The people at golfworks always do an amazing job with orders.  I did find a rather large 12g weight gap between the 7 and 8 irons, I will wait and see what we can do to fix this before building. 

[Popeye64]

1 hour ago, 5hort5tuff said:

I just received my STi2 club pack in the mail.  I know this has been said before, but these irons look way better in person. It's amazing to me. They are so much smaller and more compact than any picture I have seen them in.  Obviously, they aren't your traditional blade size, but truly look nice in person. 

 

The people at golfworks always do an amazing job with orders.  I did find a rather large 12g weight gap between the 7 and 8 irons, I will wait and see what we can do to fix this before building. 

Check your headweights against the written specs on the website. If you have found a head out of spec they will certainly replace it. 

[BlackDots]

On 8/15/2022 at 3:03 PM, Eric49er said:

I received my KE4Max 5-iron that I ordered last week.  I bought the custom shop build,  with a least expensive A flex graphite shaft.  I like that option because I get to pick a longer shaft (I am 6'4), a different lie angle,  and the grip I want (GolfPride Tour Wrap 2G).   I wanted to try a 5 iron instead of 7 iron because I love my DBM 7 iron, and won't replace that until I get a feel for the KE4Max.  Shipping was fast as always, I ordered on Tuesday last week and received the club today (Monday).  I am headed to play in the Spark league this afternoon, and anxious to see how things go.  I hit a lot of pushes and fades with my current DBM 5-iron, wondering if I can hit this new one better.  In case you are interested, and wanted to see the side by side difference, I am including pics of the new one with the older DBM 5 iron that I bought about a year ago. (ignore the dog hairs in the pics!)

I'd talked myself out of those KE4 Max and into sticking with my old faithful's then I found this picture......

 

How does the top line look, in your opinion, of the KE4 Max compared to the DBM's?  

[Ize]

I've got both the KE4 max and TE forged (same as DBM) and the top lines are very different TE forged is way thinner to the eye, visually looks less than half the Topline of the Max

[5hort5tuff]

Has anyone removed a badge from the STI2 head? In wondering how those bad boys would look without the badge.  Now that I have got them in hand I've realized they aren't paint filled, they are inface a piece of plastic/metal on the back of the club.

 

***If anyone has an old demo head they want to experiment with, pull the badge and weigh it for me, I'll send you a few agreed upon bucks!***

Edited December 7, 2022 by 5hort5tuff

[BlackDots]

15 hours ago, Ize said:

I've got both the KE4 max and TE forged (same as DBM) and the top lines are very different TE forged is way thinner to the eye, visually looks less than half the Topline of the Max

I play an old set if Revolution Black Dots, with a TE forged GW.  I'm on a budget, but want to invest in some tech without breaking the bank.  I'm an inconsistent striker with a 14-16 index, would be a 20 if I couldn't make a few putts.  Every (not that big a sample size....) GI iron I've hit is duck hook city and feels like I'm swinging a bucket from a pay loader, but i feel like my game requires a GI iron.  The specs and visual of the head of the KE4 Max look manageable to my eye, though.

[Klubster]

4 hours ago, BlackDots said:

 The specs and visual of the head of the KE4 Max look manageable to my eye, though.

I have played forged blades and players clubs all my life.  The KE4 Max does not have much offset and it is not very apparent at address.  The topline does not appear as thick as most GI irons.  A had no trouble adapting to them.  Maltby did a good job disguising the GI features at address. 

[Popeye64]

37 minutes ago, Klubster said:

I have played forged blades and players clubs all my life.  The KE4 Max does not have much offset and it is not very apparent at address.  The topline does not appear as thick as most GI irons.  A had no trouble adapting to them.  Maltby did a good job disguising the GI features at address. 

I can not strongly enough support this post. 

The KE4 Max does it all for me.  I'm a forged club snob, I've almost exclusively played forged clubs with only a temporary dabble with cast clubs. The KE4 Max is good enough to knock the TS1 out of the bag.

About a bigger topline. For me on any iron that works well, it vanishes. When I'm looking down I purely focus on ball position. Now if I don't hit an iron well, my eye starts making all sorts of excuses. It's too big, the toe is too high, it's too short, the topline is like a razor... and so on. 

For the money spent it's near impossible to over look. 

Now... when the TS3 comes out I'll immediately grab a set. It should be quite a battle. 

[dmeeksDC]

On 10/28/2022 at 11:53 AM, Popeye64 said:

I was asked for some side by side pics of the KE4 Max vs PTM. 

The PTM is slightly larger than the Max which surprised me. But there are certain design cues that somehow remind me of the PTM. Toplines are fairly similar with the PTM being slightly longer. Sole width is close but the PTM has a big leading edge relief. 

Finish wise the PTM holds up WAY better than the Max. The chrome finish on the Max shows play fairly quickly but it's purely cosmetic. Where a PTM looks fresh given the same play time. 

Looking at the backs there are stark differences but at the same time my eye sees similarities. The way the mass of the iron swoops up to the toe has a familiar look. 

The PTM was one of my all time favorites and if they were still in cycle, I would be still playing them. Since a side gig is building clubs I always try to play a current design. 

Forgiveness of the Max cannot be overlooked. The PTM were more than friendly but just can't match the help the Max gives. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. For the money spent the KE4 Max is near impossible to beat. 

Boy, happy to see these photos that I somehow missed. I never would have guessed the PTM is larger than the KE4 MAX. But there it is. What this comparison shows me is the KE4 MAX is what I thought it was: Unbelievably forgiving but far from a shovel. Good looking iron.

 

Indeed, while I thought the PTM was a very attractive and fantastic feeling iron, my one quibble was I wished the blade length was just a touch shorter. There’s not a big difference between them but the PTM shape does make it look a little more “stretched out” in blade length. The KE4 MAX blade visually looks a bit shorter but the overall shape seems to add to that perception.

 

If there is such a category as game improvement/distance/players irons — great on your good days and good on your bad days — that’s the KE4 MAX. I recently ordered an STi long iron to compare to a KE4 MAX 4 iron and both are solid but I definitely preferred the “can’t miss” vibe of the MAX. It does show marks in the chrome pretty quickly but stuff like that never matters to me. 

[Popeye64]

2 minutes ago, dmeeksDC said:

Boy, happy to see these photos that I somehow missed. I never would have guessed the PTM is larger than the KE4 MAX. But there it is. What this comparison shows me is the KE4 MAX is what I thought it was: Unbelievably forgiving but far from a shovel. Good looking iron.

 

Indeed, while I thought the PTM was a very attractive and fantastic feeling iron, my one quibble was I wished the blade length was just a touch shorter. There’s not a big difference between them but the PTM shape does make it look a little more “stretched out” in blade length. The KE4 MAX blade visually looks a bit shorter but the overall shape seems to add to that perception.

 

If there is such a category as game improvement/distance/players irons — great on your good days and good on your bad days — that’s the KE4 MAX. I recently ordered an STi long iron to compare to a KE4 MAX 4 iron and both are solid but I definitely preferred the “can’t miss” vibe of the MAX. It does show marks in the chrome pretty quickly but stuff like that never matters to me. 

Only knock on these is in your last paragraph. They do show play wear a bit more than I like. Price wise comes into play on finish. I'm easily overlooking that with how they play. 

[BlackDots]

On 12/7/2022 at 12:31 PM, Popeye64 said:

I can not strongly enough support this post. 

The KE4 Max does it all for me.  I'm a forged club snob, I've almost exclusively played forged clubs with only a temporary dabble with cast clubs. The KE4 Max is good enough to knock the TS1 out of the bag.

About a bigger topline. For me on any iron that works well, it vanishes. When I'm looking down I purely focus on ball position. Now if I don't hit an iron well, my eye starts making all sorts of excuses. It's too big, the toe is too high, it's too short, the topline is like a razor... and so on. 

For the money spent it's near impossible to over look. 

Now... when the TS3 comes out I'll immediately grab a set. It should be quite a battle. 

Bit the bullet and ordered a set of the Max's with the Score shafts in 5-GW.  Grabbed the KE4 FDI Hybrid 3 and the KE4 TC Hybrid 2 to fill out the bag.

 

Pretty pumped, been a Maltby/Golf Works fan for years.  Have built and played a slew of wedges and woods over the last 16 or 17 years but have never done much with the irons.

 

Thanks for all the knowledge and input guys.

[5hort5tuff]

For anyone who is wondering what is behind these badges...I went ahead and stripped one off of an sti2 7 iron. 

 

Total 3g weight.  It is a very thin metal case with plastic/foam tape underneath. 

 

I'm going to hit the range as soon as I can to see how different it sounds and feels, then I will decide if I strip the rest. 

[Klubster]

IMO, it did not enhance the looks.

[SE Gamer]

1 hour ago, Klubster said:

IMO, it did not enhance the looks.

 

Agreed. Although cleaned up will probably look better.

[5hort5tuff]

I have to agree with you guys. If the depressed circle didnt exist behind the badge they would be very nice with the badges removed.  My gut it's telling me that it will not feel great either.

 

I think the perfect middle ground may just be to strip the paintfills and leave the badge.

Edited December 16, 2022 by 5hort5tuff

[Popeye64]

30 minutes ago, 5hort5tuff said:

I have to agree with you guys. If the deoressed circle didnt exost behind the badge they would be very nice eith the badges removed.  My gut it's telling me that it will not feel great either.

 

I think the perfect middle ground may just be to strip the paintfills and leave the badge.

If you wipe the badge down with Acetone it will remove any paint. It should accomplish what ever non painted goal you are going for. 

[Colej]

2 hours ago, 5hort5tuff said:

I have to agree with you guys. If the deoressed circle didnt exost behind the badge they would be very nice eith the badges removed.  My gut it's telling me that it will not feel great either.

 

I think the perfect middle ground may just be to strip the paintfills and leave the badge.

Strips of lead tape cut to fit perfectly in that cavity may not look too bad? 

[JoeHatesSnow]

Hard to say how it might look if you could successfully clean up all that adhesive left in there.  Ultimately the results probably won't be worth the time and effort necessary, for me at least.

[Popeye64]

57 minutes ago, Colej said:

Strips of lead tape cut to fit perfectly in that cavity may not look too bad? 

I think he was looking to lose some weight?

But too your point. I built a set of G30 irons for a customer and those heads are super lite. I knew swing weight wise they were not going to work that well but didn't want to just throw weight at it. When the clubs arrived I had the customer cut some lead to fit down and inside the big cavity. He was thrilled with being able to customize his irons and spent a few days experimenting with weight. 

He is loving his combo now especially since he was able to dial it in, and can change it when he wants.... may have created a monster. 

I really think not enough people experiment to find the perfect swing weight for thier combo. 

[Colej]

55 minutes ago, Popeye64 said:

I think he was looking to lose some weight?

But too your point. I built a set of G30 irons for a customer and those heads are super lite. I knew swing weight wise they were not going to work that well but didn't want to just throw weight at it. When the clubs arrived I had the customer cut some lead to fit down and inside the big cavity. He was thrilled with being able to customize his irons and spent a few days experimenting with weight. 

He is loving his combo now especially since he was able to dial it in, and can change it when he wants.... may have created a monster. 

I really think not enough people experiment to find the perfect swing weight for thier combo. 

I was thinking he wasn’t liking the looks of the badge. 

[5hort5tuff]

It was the look of the badge only.  I think the gold circle and entire badge is a really poor look aesthetically. I always think badgeless irons look better.   I will clean up this cavity.  I also built an 8 iron with the badge and will compare how they sound and feel before building the full set.   I think stripping the paintfill will likely be a very good compromise 

 

If anything I can usually use more weight as I play under standard length. 

Edited December 16, 2022 by 5hort5tuff

[Sparty4202]

48 minutes ago, 5hort5tuff said:

It was the look of the badge only.  I think the gold circle and entire badge is a really poor look aesthetically. I always think badgeless irons look better.   I will clean up this cavity.  I also built an 8 iron with the badge and will compare how they sound and feel before building the full set.   I think stripping the paintfill will likely be a very good compromise 

 

If anything I can usually use more weight as I play under standard length. 

The 2” wide lead tape should fit into the space of the badge with a little trimming. A little heat and goo gone or mineral spirits should take care of the badge residue. 

[games]

19 hours ago, 5hort5tuff said:

For anyone who is wondering what is behind these badges...I went ahead and stripped one off of an sti2 7 iron. 

 

Total 3g weight.  It is a very thin metal case with plastic/foam tape underneath. 

 

I'm going to hit the range as soon as I can to see how different it sounds and feels, then I will decide if I strip the rest. 

 

 

 

Like @Popeye64 said, about 30-50 pages prior (maybe a year ago), someone took acetone to the badge of the TS2 and took pictures.  All gray.  Looked decent.  I think yours will look nice with a little Goo Gone .

 

Now, I think all of Maltby's new and upcoming offerings are minimalist color.

 

[SE Gamer]

1 hour ago, games said:

 

Like @Popeye64 said, about 30-50 pages prior (maybe a year ago), someone took acetone to the badge of the TS2 and took pictures.  All gray.  Looked decent.  I think yours will look nice with a little Goo Gone .

 

Now, I think all of Maltby's new and upcoming offerings are minimalist color.

 

 

I also posted some of the TS1 maybe 5 pages ago or so. Little different because it doesn't have a cavity. But the simple paint removal route hasn't looked bad yet on any irons I've seen.

[AKA_Double J]

[Bigarch]

I'm beginning to think on that TS1, a cooler option would be to mix up some old school red wood insert epoxy and fill in that badge area... make it flush.  Try to make it look like Tiger's iconic Scotty putter.  🤔

[5hort5tuff]

I love a nice clean iron. I hate badges and rubber.  Almost every OEM does this with every GI club now. It just isn't for me.

 

I will say this again...i find it so hard to believe maltby and wishon do all this great design work and make great clubs, but they clearly spend much less time on the aesthetics.  Like why would anyone put a plain bronze circle in the middle of a badge? Why put maltby in massive bold font on the sole?

Edited December 16, 2022 by 5hort5tuff

[Popeye64]

3 minutes ago, 5hort5tuff said:

I love a nice clean iron. I hate badges and rubber.  Almost every OEM does this with every GI club now. It just isn't for me.

 

I will say this again...i find it so hard to believe maltby and wishon do all this great design work and make great clubs, but they clearly spend much less time on the aesthetics.  Like why would anyone put a plain bronze circle in the middle of a badge? 

The demographic that plays UGI could almost care less what an iron looks like. They just want it to work. They do like seeing visual cues to tech though. Whether it be rubber for dampening or softness. A big cavity for forgiveness. 

The enthusiast wants a sleek clean design. Even if they play at the same level the two different players have totally different views. They also like the colors.